By David Claybourn
Herald Banner Sports Editor
Standing in the way of the state title plans of the Commerce Tigers and the Celeste
Blue Devils are two football teams that were also in last year's finals.
The 13-2 Tigers are facing the 12-3 La Grange Leopards in a Class 3A Division II state
championship game that kicks off at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Waco ISD Stadium. La Grange
won the Division II title last year, trimming Forney 20-17 in the finals.
Celeste's 14-0 Blue Devils, who upset defending champion Stratford 32-31 in the
semifinals, will take on the 10-3 Burkeville Mustangs in the Class A state championship
game at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Rose Stadium in Tyler. Burkeville lost 49-14 to Stratford in
last year's state finals.
Commerce will be appearing in its fourth state title game. The Tigers lost 21-20 to Sealy
in the 1995 state finals and then 28-21 to Sealy in the 1997 state finals before downing
Sealy 17-10 in the 1999 Division II title game.
The Tigers reached the state finals with a 41-28 semifinal victory on Friday in Bedford
over Bridgeport and its record-setting quarterback Phillip Daugherty. Commerce got big
games on offense from running backs Tommy Wright (29-168) and Ryan Coffey (18-129), plus
from quarterback Shawn Droddy to overcome the 383-yard passing performance of Daugherty.
Droddy was 4-of-7 passing for 95 yards and also rushed for 81 yards on eight carries.
Daugherty was 25-of-51 passing for four touchdowns.
Celeste won a thriller on Saturday in Childress over Stratford, snapping the Elks' 30-game
winning streak. Sophomore John Mark Barnard booted a 26-yard field goal with 23 seconds
left to send the Blue Devils to the state football finals for the first time in school
history.
Defensive end Brandon Brown kept the Blue Devils alive when he stripped the football away
from Stratford's freshman quarterback Josh King on a sneak attempt from the Celeste one.
Celeste linebacker Chad Evans recovered the fumble in the end zone and ran it out to the
Blue Devil four.
The Blue Devils marched from their four to the Elks' nine before Barnard delivered on his
first field goal attempt of the season.
Celeste quarterback Brody Lipsey was 16-of-34 passing in that game for 361 yards,
including touchdown strikes of 36, 66, 9 and 62 yards to receivers Rod Givens, Kensley
Evans, Chad Evans and then Givens again.
Celeste is facing a Burkeville team that got off to a rough start, losing its first three
games to Class 2As Hardin (50-20), Garrison (28-6) and Hemphill (28-20), but has won its
last 10 in a row including a 43-0 pasting of Tenaha in last week's semifinals.
Burkeville won a Class A state title in 1986, routing Throckmorton 33-7 in the title game.
La Grange, Commerce's opponent, has also lost three times this season but all three were
to worthy opponents including 4A Division II state finalist Bay City (9-0), Sealy (28-13)
and 3A Division I quarterfinalist Bellville (31-7). La Grange finished second to Bellville
in District 25-3A.